


A Trip to A Cat's Paw

by Redawilo



Category: Hustle Cat, Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Cat Cafe, Fluff, I hope, It Makes Sense In Context, M/M, figure skating cats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-26
Updated: 2017-01-26
Packaged: 2018-09-20 01:29:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9469448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redawilo/pseuds/Redawilo
Summary: Otabek and Yuri are in America on vacation. Otabek decides to look up a place to surprise Yuri with on their daily motorcycle rides around the city. Yuri of course is delighted by his find.A YoI/Hustle Cat crossover that hopefully one does not need to know HC in order to enjoy!





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lavendersblues (lonely_lovebird)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lonely_lovebird/gifts).



> My friend @lavendersblues over on Tumblr expressed that she wanted somebody to write a fic about Otabek taking Yuri to a cat cafe. I know cat cafes are a real thing, but I immediately thought of Hustle Cat and with her blessing this became a thing and then it sort of got away from me. X'D I tried to focus only as much as I needed to on the HC side of things, intending for this to be read mainly by a YoI audience. Not sure if I actually manged that but I tried.

It had been a few months since Otabek and Yuri had met and decided to become friends. Competition season was over, and somehow Yuri had convinced his new friend to go on vacation with him for a few weeks somewhere in America. Otabek didn’t know why Yuri had chosen the city he did, as neither of them were particularly fond of sightseeing, not that the city had much to see anyway from what Otabek could tell from a quick Google search.

The first couple of days were spent being lazy and recovering from jet lag. In the afternoons they’d ride around aimlessly on the motorcycle they had rented. Yuri wasn’t about to admit it, but ever since their first ride together he enjoyed being able to wrap his arms around his friend’s abdomen without having to explain himself. Otabek for his part certainly didn’t mind the way the blond would hold him tighter and press his face between his shoulders when they picked up speed to get on a highway.

By the end of the third day, Otabek began to wonder exactly how they were supposed to spend three weeks in that city. Sure going for rides was fun but it wasn’t going to keep them entertained forever. Yuri was lying on the couch in the extended-stay hotel room they were in. He was scrolling through his usual social media sites when he snickered quietly and held his phone out towards the table where Otabek was sitting with his laptop. Otabek got up and came over, taking the phone to see what had made his friend laugh.

It was a picture of a calico cat balancing a jelly donut on her head. Yuri instructed him to scroll down and so he did. There were more pictures of the same cat. Two of them being a second and then a third donut being placed on her head, and then the next three being of a fourth being set on her but the whole stack falling over and her promptly cleaning the sugary glaze off her head. Otabek let out the shortest of laughs and handed the phone back to Yuri.

That had given him an idea. The older of the two skaters sat back down at his computer and began hunting for something. He found what he was after and memorized the route, saving it to his phone too just in case. The next morning he told his friend that he had somewhere special in mind for them to stop for lunch. Yuri of course had no idea what he meant by that, but was up for whatever Otabek thought might be fun.

The next morning was the same as the ones before. The two slept in just a little longer than they normally would before crawling out of bed and helping each other stretch (and Otabek would again be silently in awe of Yuri’s flexibility). They went for a run, came back, showered and had breakfast, and then they went down to the parking garage to go for their daily ride. Yuri was very curious where they were headed. He had tried to get the information out of his friend all morning, but all he had been told was that he would love it. This of course only served to excite the blond further.

Their drive took them through a good portion of the city, covering ground they already had and into a area they hadn’t. Otabek steered them down several quiet roads and Yuri began to wonder if he had gotten lost. As if to confirm his suspicions, Otabek stopped briefly to check the map on his phone. Yuri teased him about it, but Otabek quickly told him that they were still on the right track. Sure enough, three turns later and Yuri could see exactly where it was Otabek had had in mind.

Situated on a corner was a little café. The name of the place read “A Cat’s Paw”. Yuri blinked in surprise. They had been to plenty of cafes in the short time they had known each other. They usually had some pretentious or bland name. This was the first time one had a cat theme. That alone made it cute, that Otabek had thought Yuri would like it. And he did. He gave Otabek a quick squeeze around the middle before getting off the bike when they had parked.

As they approached the entrance, however, Yuri noticed the café’s true appeal. It was hard to miss, actually. Sleeping in the large front window were half a dozen cats of all different colors and ages. Yuri nearly pressed his face to the glass, eyes wide and shining. Otabek put a hand on his shoulder, causing the blond to look back at him and the corners of Otabek’s lips turned up in what was a wide smile for the stoic boy.

“Is this what I think it is?” Yuri asked him.

“A cat café, yes.” The brunet replied, holding the door open for him.

Yuri nearly squealed and hurried inside. The café was neat and had a very modern aesthetic. Whites, grays, and blacks were the primary colors used for everything, the tables and chairs and sofas were simple in design, and the occasional semi-abstract metal sculpture of a cat decorated the walls along with various cat-related pictures and knick-knacks. The cat furniture all looked new, or at the very least well maintained. Cat toys lay strewn about all over the place. Yuri entered slowly, looking around and marveling at it all.

Aside from the cats in the window, he counted at least eight others. They were either playing by or among themselves or sleeping in various locations. He was certain there were more, however, as upon further inspection there were a number of places for a cat or two to hide away. Otabek lead them to a little table and took a seat. Nobody was around, but there were little menus on the table already. Yuri sat down with him and barely even looked at one. His eyes were searching the café for more cats.

A large brown Maine coon had perked up when they had entered. It got up from the top of a cat tree where it had been laying, stretched, and climbed down. It trotted passed their table, and Yuri leaned down and held out a hand to it, clicking his tongue softly to try and bring it closer. It stopped and stared up at him for just a second before hurrying up a set of stairs to a balcony on the second floor. Yuri frowned and finally looked at the menu properly.

“Wonder why they have such an unfriendly cat here.” Yuri stated.

“Maybe he just doesn’t like you?” Otabek teased.

“No way! Cats love me.” Yuri shot at him, not looking up from the menu.

Otabek smiled at him. “Then perhaps it was just in a bad mood.”

Yuri gave him a short grunt that told him he had heard what he said. A moment later a tall young man older than both of them hurried down the stairs. He met then with a wide and friendly grin, clasping his hands together behind his back as he greeted them.

“Sorry, I didn’t hear you come in!” he said in apology. “Welcome to A Cat’s Paw. My name’s Landry. Can I take your order?” He paused before adding, “Oh um, sorry, our barista is out sick today so I can’t get you anything too fancy when it comes to coffee. Uh but what we have is still really good, I can assure you!”

Yuri grumbled and put the menu back into the little plastic stand with the others. “I don’t see anything that stands out. You order something for me, Beka.”

It wasn’t the first time Yuri had done that. Sometimes he was being honest about not seeing anything particularly interesting, other times he was just being a brat and didn’t want to talk to the server for whatever reason. Otabek had to wonder if it was the latter or that Yuri was just that distracted by the cats that were literally everywhere. The brunet gave him their order and Landry hurried into the kitchen after telling them a courtesy “I’ll be right back with your drinks”. Otabek glanced at his friend, whose eyes were squarely on a mess of cat toys that were strewn about the floor.

“You think we’re allowed to play with the cats?” Yuri asked quietly.

“You can always ask.” Otabek pointed out.

Yuri gave him another non-committal sound that simply said he had heard him. Otabek couldn’t help but find the way Yuri so obviously wanted to throw himself into the middle of the cats to be cute. Landry was quick to return with two cups of black coffee along with a bunch of different little cups of creamers. He told them their sandwiches would be ready shortly and was about to return to the kitchen when Yuri spoke up.

“Are we allowed to play with the cats?” he asked.

Landry blinked in surprise before grinning broadly again. “Oh! Yes! Of course! Sorry, I must be a little off today, usually I go over those rules right away. Patrons are allowed to use any of the toys to play with the cats. You’re allowed to pet and pick them up, too. We just ask that you be courteous to them and not bother them if they don’t want to be, and not to cause them any harm. Also that you do not bring food anywhere beyond the tiled floor.” He indicated the portion the tables were set up on and Yuri took note of the carpet covering the rest of the room. “Do you have any other questions? I’d be happy to answer them.”

“Can I take pictures?” Yuri asked, scooting his chair back and standing.

“Certainly! Just don’t use the flash, please. You’re also welcome to post them online. If you’d like you can tag them with…uh…” He flicked through the plastic stand in the middle of the table and pulled out a small laminated card. “Here it is, #catspawmagic!”

Without another word Yuri meandered over to the carpet and snatched up a feather teaser on a stick. The little bell on it jingled and several cats perked up at the sound. As Otabek poured a little creamer and a packet of sugar into his coffee, Yuri gathered up ten different cats with the toy and began to run them in circles with it. A small bob-tailed cat hopped onto the back of a sofa and watched with interest as Yuri tried to get the swarm of cats to do figure eights. A couple of them managed to follow the pattern properly and Yuri let out a laugh.

“Beka! I think I’ve found the promising ones!” he called out.

“Looking for new ice skating talent?” Otabek asked.

“You bet! Just think, if I could train a cat to do even a single toe loop he’d score higher than that katsudon!”

“It would certainly be impressive.”

It was around then that Landry came back out with their food. Yuri begrudgingly dropped the toy and gave the two who had done figure eights for him a quick head scratch each before returning to the table. Their sandwiches were called “cheese steaks” or something. Yuri didn’t really care what lame names Americans gave their food, so he didn’t really pay attention to what Otabek told him it was. He just knew there was a lot of meat and cheese, which he had come to learn was pretty typical of the country. It tasted fine, so he didn’t complain. Not to mention that it was certainly not something he would be allowed to eat during competition season.

They ate in relative silence, Yuri managing to put enough cream and sugar into his coffee to make it drinkable and wondering if maybe it had been a bad idea to let it sit so long. He only complained a little about it being too cool, blaming it on the cats when Otabek pointed out that he was the one who had left it. Otabek smirked at his claims and let him be just a little petty. Once their plates had been cleaned, Landry came by to pick them up again and asked if they wanted desert.

Yuri glanced at Otabek. They’d be splitting the bill, but the blond was curious if his friend was interested. A little to his surprise the brunet picked up the desert menu and skimmed it.

“I can suggest the key lime pie.” Landry stated. “Our chef makes a really good one!”

Otabek nodded at that and passed the paper over to Yuri. He browsed it quickly before choosing a chocolate cake. When Landry went upstairs to fetch their deserts, Yuri cast a glare at his friend who was smirking at him.

“What?” Yuri asked.

“I didn’t know you were such a fan of chocolate.”

“Shut up!” Yuri shouted. “Everybody likes chocolate! Besides, something loaded with sugar would piss off Yakov, so of course I’m going to eat it on my vacation.”

Landry returned only a moment later with their sweets. He hurried back to the kitchen to get their bill for them and the two dug in. Yuri hadn’t been expecting much, as many American restaurants were terrible when it came to desert, but the moment he put a spoonful of cake into his mouth his eyes flew open. Even Otabek, as stoic as he was, looked shocked at how good his pie was. Yuri stole a bite of it from him, which Otabek didn’t mind, and they agreed that the sweets might be the best thing about the place…aside from the cats of course.

While they were finishing up their desert, a young couple came into the café and Landry quickly bounded over to them to take their orders. After they paid, the two skaters got up to head out and find something else to do. Landry of course waved to them and told them to come again anytime. Yuri planned to do just that, and Otabek could tell by the way he paused to give the bob-tailed cat who had been running about keeping the other cats in order a head scratching before they left.

“You want to come back tomorrow?” the brunet asked, handing Yuri his helmet.

“Of course!” Yuri shouted, grin lighting up his features.

The two climbed onto the motorbike and Yuri took the opportunity to hug Otabek briefly and mutter a shy “thank you” before he started it and the sound drowned out any conversation they could have.

*****

They did indeed go back the following the day. Yuri was thankful that Landry wasn’t the one who greeted them, as the young man’s personality felt a bit too dog-like and it reminded him of Victor. Instead a young woman shouted a hello to them as they entered. She was already taking somebody else’s order and informed them that she would be right with them. They sat at the same table again and waited patiently for her to come back out. She dropped off an espresso to the other customer and skipped over to them.

“Sorry about that! I’m Finley, what can I get for you cuties today?” she asked, beaming.

Oh great, this one wasn’t a dog but a bubbly girl. Yuri scowled and could feel himself growing tired of her already.

“Black coffee and…” he pointed to an image of what looked like chicken and vegetables rolled up in a tortilla. “Whatever that is.”

“Is your barista in today?” Otabek asked her.

“Oh, I like your accents!” she exclaimed gleefully, scribbling down Yuri’s order on a small pad of paper. “Yes, he is!”

“Vanilla latte, and the same thing he’s having.”

“Sure thing!” she stated, writing that down. “I take it you have been here before? Do I need to go over the rules for the cats?”

“Nope.” Yuri told her dryly.

“Okay, then I will be right out with your drinks.” She said with a playful wink.

She trotted to the kitchen and Yuri wasted no time in going over to play with the cats. He picked up the same feather teaser he had the day before and the same two cats he had taken a liking to came over along with three others. It didn’t take long before Otabek noticed he was trying to get them to jump for it this time. The cats complied, and same two as before even did few backflips for the toy. Otabek was distracted from watching him when their drinks arrived. He blinked down at his latte for a moment before calling over to his friend.

“Yura! Come take a look at this.”

Yuri dropped the toy and wandered back over, wondering what was so important that his friend would make him leave the cats. He came to look. A stripped kitten had been drawn in the foam and Yuri was quick to pull his phone out of his pocket and take a picture. As Otabek picked up his cup to take a drink, Yuri found the card with the hashtag he had been told about and uploaded the image to Instagram. With a grin he sat down and began fixing his own coffee to his liking.

“Man, I’m jealous now.” He stated. “Remind me to order one of those next time.”

Otabek raised an eyebrow at him over his drink. “You already want to come back here again?”

“Those two cats are showing some real promise. Did you see them jumping? I’ll have them doing quad axels in no time.”

The brunet cast him a look. “Were you serious about training them?”

Yuri cackled. “No way! But that doesn’t mean I can’t have some fun, now can I?”

After they had finished their lunch and partaken in yet another couple slices of desert, the pair paid and were off again.

*****

They didn’t go back the next day, as Otabek had wanted to try another place he had seen while driving back the last time. Yuri was just little disappointed, but agreed a change of taste wasn’t a bad thing. The fourth day however Yuri challenged him to a race during their morning jog and had won. So it was back to A Cat’s Paw for lunch it was.

They came in a little later than before and there were three tables already in use, including the one they had been at before. A young kid was serving another table and greeted them when they came in. He came over to them, introduced himself as Reese, and of course asked for their order. Yuri couldn’t help but admire his fashion sense a little. It wasn’t anything Yuri himself would wear, nor was it something Otabek would, but he still knew how to dress pretty coolly.

It was Otabek’s turn to order. A couple of lattes (mainly so that Yuri could get a foam-cat too) and more sandwiches. Before Reese could go fetch them their drinks, the door to the café opened again and another person hurried in.

“Sorry I’m late!” they called out to Reese. “I slept through my alarm and then I remembered I didn’t buy Mochi food last night like I should have so I had to run to the corner store and get it! And on top of that I forgot my keys in the apartment so I had to get the manager to lend me a spare!”

Reese scowled at them and thrust the pen and paper he was holding into their hands. “Avery, that’s the second time you’ve been late this week. I’m gonna dock your pay if you keep this up! You take over this table, I’ve got my hands full already.” Without another word he turned on a heel and went back to the kitchen.

Avery let out a whine and gave Otabek and Yuri a proper greeting and an apology before double-checking their order and going to the kitchen themself. This time Yuri convinced Otabek to get up and go to the cats with him. Otabek was content to sit down on the floor with them and pet them while Yuri looked for a suitable toy. He found a small mouse that had flecks of catnip on it and gave it a toss. The Maine coon they had seen the first day snatched it and brought it back to him. Otabek commented that it was dog-like and Yuri had to laugh and agree. He gave the mouse a few more tosses, and the cat fetched it each time.

Their drinks arrived and they returned to their table, but not before Yuri could snap a couple pictures of a cat that had ungracefully draped itself over one of Otabek’s ankles and was snoozing happily. Their lattes didn’t disappoint, both having different cats drawn into the foam. Yuri took pictures of those too and posted all of them online.

*****

Otabek won the next two morning races, but the third time was the charm and they were on their way back to what was obviously becoming one of Yuri’s favorite places on Earth. They were surprised to see a large crowd outside and a quick ask told them that “Jelly Donut” was in the café today. The name caused Yuri’s features to light up and he explained to Otabek that that was the cat he had shown him before that had balanced donuts on her head. Now bouncing with excitement at the prospect of getting some pictures of her of his own, Yuri waited ever so impatiently for their chance to get into the café.

It looked like everyone was working that day. The two recognized Reese, Avery, and Landry trying to juggle serving customers and keeping people in check in the cat play area. Much to Yuri’s regret, he and Otabek agreed they’d just get a cup of coffee, take a few pictures, and then go elsewhere to eat so as to lighten the load a bit.

At least, the plan had been not to be problematic for the workers. Yuri however seemed to have an unusual definition of “problematic”. A skittish young man named Hayes took their orders and brought them their lattes and a simple glazed donut each courtesy of it being Jelly Donut day. Yuri muttered to himself that he found the anxious type to be so annoying, but Otabek caught the fond look in his friend’s eye that told him the blond was thinking of the other Yuri. The blond snapped pictures of their drinks and the donuts before snatching up one of them and getting up from his chair.

“You aren’t supposed to bring that to the carpet.” Otabek told him, knowing exactly what Yuri was intending.

“Shh!” Yuri shushed him quickly. “If I do it fast then no one will notice.”

“Oh they’ll notice.”

“Only if you keep holding me up!”

With that Yuri blended into the crowd surrounding the friendly and photogenic calico. She seemed to eat up all the attention she was being given. She closed her eyes and purred, leaning into every hand that stroked her. She rolled over cutely, casting big adorable eyes in the direction of cameras. Not wanting to miss out on any of it, Yuri took a few pictures of his own before making his way to the front of the crowd and reaching out with the donut for her head.

“Hey! No food in the cat area! Stop that right now or I will have you removed from the premises!” Reese shouted from the door where he had stationed himself as a tiny bouncer.

How he had seen through the crowd to what Yuri was trying to do was beyond him, but the blond complied. He sulked back the table and shoved the donut into his mouth. But not before grumbling a few choice Russian curses about the “annoying little punk”. Otabek had half a mind to call Yuri “Mr. Pot” for the rest of the day, but opted not to push that button while they were on vacation. No matter how cute Yuri could be when he was angry.

They finished their drinks and donuts without any other trouble. Occasionally Reese would shout at another customer about the rules, and the other servers were scrambling to keep up with everything. Otabek made sure to leave Hayes a large tip before they left.

*****

They visited the café off and on during the rest of their vacation. Avery, Reese, Finley, Hayes, and Landry all knew them by name now, and Landry even suggested a couple new foods and deserts for them to try. Once they even heard who they were told was the owner calling for Hayes from upstairs to make him a cup of coffee. Otabek and Yuri agreed that everything the chef made was good. As for the cats, Yuri had taken quite the liking to the bob-tailed one that would always keep the others in check whenever he was around, along with the two he swore he got to perform single flips by the second-to-last time they were there.

They decided to make an entire afternoon of it on their last visit. They ate their lunch, but said they would be holding off on desert for when they left. Otabek sat on the floor and a few of his favorites meandered over to rub up against him and catch a quick nap on his lap. Yuri ate up the sight, getting pictures from every angle and uploading every last one. He had Otabek take videos of him playing with his two favorite cats, uploading them with the caption “more talented than every single one of my competitors except @otabek-altin”.

“Your cat is going to think you’ve been cheating on him.” Otabek stated as Yuri uploaded what must have been the hundredth photo that day.

Yuri scoffed. “I’d never cheat on him!” He glared at the brunet. “What, are you gonna tell on me or something?”

Otabek smiled, scratching under the chin of one of the cats laying on him. It raised its head and purred loudly. Yuri bit back a squeal of joy and snapped another photo.

“I won’t, but you’d better hope he’s been staying off of social media while you’ve been away.” He teased.

The blond raised an eyebrow at him. “Do you seriously think he knows how to go on Instagram?”

“I’d be surprised if he doesn’t have his own account. He _is_ your cat, after all.”

Yuri hummed at that notion thoughtfully. “I wonder if I could make him as famous as Jelly Donut.”

“Does he do any tricks?”

“He lays on my bed and is fat. Does that count?”

“I don’t think it does.” Otabek laughed. “But it does sound cute.”

Yuri nodded and returned to cooing over the other cats in the café, getting pictures whenever he could. Finley came in shortly before they were planning to leave. Having gotten to know her just a little better, Yuri had learned she was almost as good at taking pictures as Phichit was taking selfies. He asked her to get a shot of both him and Otabek with a swarm of cats he gathered up quickly with one of the toys. She took a few and handed his phone back before getting to work.

As they were getting ready to leave, a tall woman neither had seen before came out from the kitchen. She was drying her hands on an apron, so Yuri guessed she must be the chef. She took one look at them and spoke up quietly.

“Leaving? You said you wanted desert on the go, right?” she asked, her voice naturally carrying a commanding tone. “What do you want?”

They gave her their order; another slice of key lime pie and chocolate cake. She gave them a curt nod before heading up to the second floor balcony where the deserts were kept on display. Otabek and Yuri had gone up there once or twice just for a change in scenery and had obviously noticed the display case full of the things the woman had no doubt baked herself. When she came back down, their order was already boxed and bagged up for them. They didn’t even need to open the bag to notice there were twice the boxes inside.

“You two really like the cherry cake, right? All four are on the house.” She stated before going back to the kitchen.

The two said good-bye to Finley. She tried to get a hug out of them, but as neither were exactly the hugging type instead she shook their hands and told them to come visit the next time they were in the states. Yuri pointed out that America was too huge for that sort of thing, but she just laughed it off.

Outside, Yuri commented that the chef reminded him of somebody, looking directly at Otabek with a smirk that told the brunet exactly who he was talking about. After stowing their deserts in one of the saddlebags on the motorcycle, Yuri lowered his voice a little and avoided eye contact.

“Hey…” he muttered. Otabek cast him a curious look. “Thanks for this. Finding this café and putting up with bringing me here all this time.”

Here was just a hint of pink in the blond’s cheeks, and that alone made Otabek feel it had been worth it. To his surprise Yuri took one of his hands and leaned up on his toes to shyly kiss his cheek. Otabek returned it in kind and they got back on the bike. As the engine started, Yuri noticed a “Help Wanted” sign in the window of the café.

Back at their hotel room, he would joke about quitting figure skating to go work there. Knowing he was joking, Otabek would tell him that that would mean he would be lonely during competition again. That would get Yuri to blush just a little again and mumble that he obviously wasn’t going to quit. Not when he still had so many more gold medals to win.

But for now Yuri was too busy hiding his face in Otabek’s back again, although this time it was because he was embarrassed about having exchanged a kiss with his best friend and not the wind picking up.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, I am my own beta reader. So if there are any mistakes please do point them out to me!


End file.
